WEBINAR RECAP
An HR Policy webinar examined “Pay Transparency and Company Responses” in light of new legislation in New York City, California, and Washington.
Ms. Huang reviewed the results of our recent HRPA survey on pay transparency best practices. The survey indicated:
- 50% of companies currently disclose pay ranges only where required by law, 21% publish ranges nationally, and another 21% are considering a national approach
- Of those that disclose pay ranges to job candidates, 52% provide ranges for remote roles, such as a national average range by role, with or without variation by geographic location
Mr. Hoff discussed that the pay transparency laws are part of a broader focus on ensuring pay equity, with three focus areas of current legislation:
- Disclosures of pay ranges in job postings,
- Requirements to disclose pay ranges upon an applicant’s request, and
- Release of pay data to regulators.
He reviewed the specific laws around job posting requirements and the nuances associated with each one.
Ms. Daly and Ms. Mello discussed how their organizations approach transparency, citing a collaborative effort among the compensation, talent acquisition and legal teams. Establishing a strong job architecture and conducting thorough analyses to understand how both current employees and new hires are paid within the range is critical. Companies will need to determine how broad a range to publish and should ensure the disclosed range is reasonably reflective of how a job candidate will be paid. Panelists also recommended pay concerns be addressed proactively for internal employees paid below the minimum of the range and any identified pay inequities.
Ms. Madden spoke about the importance of educating employees and managers on the benchmarking process used to design the pay structure, the factors that influence an employee’s actual pay, and training for managers on discussing pay with employees. She encouraged HR teams to spend their time developing strategic and consistent communications and focusing efforts on change management. The WTW Pay Clarity survey cited the most common reason employers do not share compensation information is “fear of employees’ questions.” Ms. Madden suggested that when “pay is a big black box,” employees become skeptical and start to tell their own story around how pay is determined. She concluded that in her experience, once a framework is established and ranges are published, employees are appreciative of the increased transparency and “blowback” is minimized.
